Kopp Sentenced to Life Plus 10 in Federal Court for Abortion Provider's Murder
Anti-abortion extremist James Kopp was sentenced yesterday to a life term plus 10 years in prison by a federal judge. Kopp, who had already been convicted in a state court in 2003 of assassinating Dr. Barnett A. Slepian, an abortion provider, was found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act (PDF), which the Feminist Majority helped pass. Kopp's violation of the FACE Act drew the life term; the additional 10 years were for using a firearm in a crime of violence.
"You served as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner," US District Judge Richard J. Arcara told Kopp during the sentencing, the Buffalo News reports. "You decided that you know better than any law."
In October 1998, Kopp, known as "Atomic Dog" in anti-abortion extremist circles, hid in the woods outside of Dr. Slepian's house, shooting and killing Dr. Slepian through his kitchen window. Before his arrest by authorities in 2001, Kopp fled the country, hiding in Mexico, Ireland, and France. He is currently a suspect in four other non-fatal shootings of abortion providers and has been charged with the 1995 attempted murder of a doctor in Ontario, Canada.
12/9/2013 Mixed Results for Afghanistan's Anti-Violence Against Women Law - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released their annual report on violence against women in Afghanistan yesterday, revealing mixed results of the country's Elimination of Violence against Women Law.
"A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan [PDF]," found that there was a 28 percent increase in reports of violence against women from 2012 to 2013 , but only 17 percent of those were prosecuted under EVAW - a small 2 percent increase from last year.
The law, which was issued by the executive decree of President Hamid Karzai in 2009, criminalizes 22 acts of violence against women and specifies punishment for perpetrators. . . .
